BEAUTY Want younger-looking eyes?

Send those bags packing


Beauty
Maggie Gibbons

The skin around the eyes is thin and delicate and needs to be treated gently. It’s here you’ll notice signs of ageing, dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles, which all tend to give the appearance of tiredness.
There are so many products available that deciding what to go for can be confusing. Whether you ‘do it yourself’ or decide to spend your precious euros on a specifically designed product is your choice. I always recommend separate products for this area, as regular moisturisers are too rich and make the problem worse – more puffiness and so on. You can start treating your eye area as early as thirty, but you need to consider many things before purchasing under-eye creams. Be aware of the marketing jargon and do your research. Remember, just because it costs a fortune, it doesn’t mean it’s any better than its cheaper counterpart.

Dark circles
Most of us get them at some stage, like shadows around the eyes they are a major pain. The only thing that works here is concealer. Choose a light creamy one that won’t settle in the lines under the eyes and just pat it gently in, remembering the inner corners of the eyes. This is one product you needn’t spend a lot on; some are a total rip off. Aldi do a brilliant one for less than €5. Another great value buy is Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer at €4.79, available in Boots. I’m also loving Catrice, which is a supermarket range that offers amazing value for money as well as being top-notch quality. I’m currently using both their primer and BB cream, which are both brilliant and each cost around €5.

Wrinkles
Use a good eye cream. Tap it on with your ring finger and avoid pulling the skin. Don’t overload the area at night time or you may end up with a worse problem in the morning. Vichy Liftactiv Derm Source Eye Cream (around €25) is a good buy for those who want complete care for the eye area, wrinkles, eyelids, dark circles and under-eye bags. Suitable for the most sensitive eyes.

Puffiness
Olay has introduced a new Olay Regenerist Advanced Age-Defying Eye Roller (€30) – a targeted treatment specifically designed to deliver significantly younger-looking eyes in four weeks. It has three carefully spaced metal rollers to provide the skin surface with a cooling, gentle massage which assists in increasing lymphatic drainage. The caffeine tightens up the skin and diminishes puffiness. I personally love it.

The DIY answer
For puffy eyes, place cold spoons, sliced cucumber or chilled tea bags under your eyes. The cool temperature reduces swelling. Splash some cold water over your face and eyes first thing in the morning for a wide awake look.
An eye treatment to reduce eye bags, dark circles, and wrinkles is a vital part of your beauty regime, especially if you want to retain your youthful appearance. Remember that the eyes are highly expressive, and this is the area where people focus their attention when talking to you. Make sure they see bright, wide-awake peepers rather than stressed, tired ones. Your hectic social life doesn’t have to show in your face!

Maggie Gibbons is an Image/Style Consultant based in Louisburgh. She can be contacted at living@mayonews.ie.